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@Fred Does the same thing go for people of color?? Can they make it through without uttering the word that shall not be spoken. What about any other words that someone else finds offensive? When a person of color uses one of someone's 'protected' words will they be treated with the same way as Paula Deen or will it be called cultural and therefore okay to use?

Melcher, as soon as someone comparable to Deen (Al Roker, perhaps?) becomes known for throwing around slurs and nostalgia for the Jim Crow South, we can deal with it.

And really now -- is it really so threatening that black people are using the word in a totally different context? Am I to believe that is too confusing for us white folks, and that we're the real victims here?

@Fred - here's the thing though: the context which some black folks use the word is to imply endearment...that makes no sense to me and I am half black, raised in the hood and heard the word tossed around by black people...the use of the "N" word will continue for both black and white folks...overtly by blacks and covertly by some whites....the thing is though, to me it's one of those words that should just be off limits for *everyone*...

I thought this was a very readable, brief essay on the use of the word, which I'd recommend to others who are seriously having trouble seeing the difference between Paula Deen using the slur and black people appropriating it. (Also mentioned is that not all black uses of the term are intended to be positive.)

Some of the commenters on the essay share your opinion. I can see the POV that the use of the word is classless or "embarrassing," as one person said.

@fred - thanks for sharing the link...still a fail for me...over the years, I've had family and friends say similar things...

I know a lot of this has to do with growing up in the 70's and hearing some of my white relatives, including my grandfather, refer to my father as the "N" lover...

my father was a strong supporter of civil rights and he marched in several protests, across the country...growing up, I definitely heard the word in my house (sparingly) but it was always describing a specific type of person: a person with low expectations, lazy...a person who because they didn't know how to behave caused nice business to close...a person who would smile in your face and then turn around and rob your house...that is what a "N" is to me...

and I've found that the folks who use that word the most and our most adamant about how harmless it is, are usually the same folks who epitomize the definition I provided above...and yes, I admit that I am stereotyping...

latino's aren't greeting each other with racial slurs, neither are whites, Jews, or the majority of races/ethnicities...women don't greet each other by saying "what's up my (starts with C rhymes with punt)?"....for me, based on the history of the word, I will never, ever understand the logic behind making it acceptable or why anyone would want to... nor do I accept the "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy of punishing Paula and rewarding 100's of hip hop stars who say the same word, which, regardless of how it's sanitized, means the same, regardless whose saying it ...

"[Lawsuit] documents state that [plaintiff Lisa] Jackson became the General Manager of Bubba’s Oyster and Seafood House in Savannah, Georgia, which is co-owned by Deen and Bubba, after the previous GM, who was male, was fired for having sexual relations with the servers. Deen allegedly said in a meeting in which Jackson was present, 'If you think I have worked this hard to lose everything because of a piece of p**y, you better think again, and now I’m going to do something I have never done I am going to put a woman in a man’s job.'"

http://tinyurl.com/b46bo87

It really is too bad that someone as talented, driven and successful as Deen just wouldn't learn that professionals just don't use the N-word anymore -- no matter what their background or upbringing. (They also don't allow their brothers and business partners to look at porn in the office. Just ask the Butler PD.)

failing to renew Deen's contract still doesn't solve the problem of black people who abuse this word....and there are plenty who do....if it's not acceptable for white people to call a black person the "N" word, then it's also unacceptable for black people to call each other this word as well.... Otherwise, we have a double standard....my mother is black and my father white...I grew up hearing my uncles and grandfather on my fathers side, referring to my father as the "N" lover....

the word is disgusting regarding who says it or how it's spelled...it really s that simple...

@Fred - of course the usual bigot, racialist did that...deflection is their forte...

but to me, after years of brutal slavery and vicious discrimination, that was government sanctioned less than 50 years ago, the coping mechanism for years of suffering is calling each other the very same degrading names that plantation owners once called black people?? the history of the word and all the baggage associated with it, suggests to me that regardless of whose using it and how it's justified, mitigated or approved of, it's a hypocritical double standard to allow black people to use it, carte Blanche, while punishing white people... It just doesn’t make any sense... "do as I say and not as I do" is hypocrisy in action....

@pornoi - which are you: under 30 not very good at American historysomeone who believes American history started in 1980 someone who interjects baseless, clueless one liners because that's all you can bring to the table...

I'm surprised so many in the related poll -- just over 50% at this point -- do not agree with the Food Network's decision to not renew Deen's contract.

Whether you feel the use of racial slurs can be excused or not, why in the world would, or *should*, the FOOD NETWORK want to have anything to do with such a controversy? No matter what, Deen's name is badly tainted, and people aren't going to associate her name with food (or diabetes) anymore.

I wasn't raised in a household that used crude language of any type, so hearing stuff like that is fingernails on a blackboard to me.

However, aside from name calling, Paula Deen just isn't that good a chef. The accent and overly "folksy" manner is annoying, and the foods she prepares are uninspiring. Food Network can do a lot better than that. MPTV Channel 36.3 does a lot better than that. I just learned technique for an apricot pistachio soufflé from watching Jacques Pepin last night. Technique makes all the difference and watching a masterful chef prepare a classic is priceless. Why doesn't Food Network try to lure any number of great chefs whose shows are on public TV?

Paula is negotiating a contract with the GOP to act as their spokesperson. According to Reince Priebus, "Paula's philosophies are aligned with our party messaging and rebranding. Plus her Uncle Tom's Cabin casserole is to die for."